I disagree. His being appointed Utd manager was akin to a lottery win with SAF in charge of the draw.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac76
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I disagree. His being appointed Utd manager was akin to a lottery win with SAF in charge of the draw.Quote:
Originally Posted by Mac76
No offence taken! ;)Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Maybe I should have elaborated on my point, I’ll stand by what I said above, Wenger has damaged our current or dare I say it short term reputation / appeal.
We failed to take advantage of our standing in both PL and CL over the past few years prior to us not qualifying for CL. Our reputation a couple of seasons ago was such that a player would indefinitely choose Arsenal over Liverpool. Not anymore, and as it stands we appear to be operating in a market a tier below them.
None of the above really matters if we improve over the next few seasons to the point of competitiveness and regular CL football but the fact remains that we certainly have some catching up to do both in terms of appeal and performance.
Do you mean appeal in terms of players we can attract?
I don't really agree. We are a massive club and if you wave enough money at players and show ambition then they'll sign.
I think the issue is how much ambition we show, I don't think that's entirely down to Wenger, we don't have a board prepared to push the boat out.
Yep appeal in terms of players we can attract.Quote:
Originally Posted by Letters
Oh I agree we are a massive club but ironically up until fairly recently we hadn’t really shown any kind of ambition as such on a consistent basis.
I don’t subscribe to the notion that the board were withholding funds from Wenger, he had plenty of funds over the past few seasons and it looks as if he just recruited really badly.
I also don’t think an unambitious club spends £100 million on two strikers in one season and pays 3 of its best players 300k per week and close to 200k per week respectively.
I realise these things are quite complexed but I stand by my point that I believe the negligence of the team coupled with poor player recruitment has left us in this dicey position, Wenger is 100% responsible for that.
:gp:Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
The difference now is that potential players will see us now and think of the possibilities. The new manager opens up a vista of hope....maybe a little fear but mostly hope. With Wengert in charge, players knew we were going nowhere fast. They always knew we could pay top dollar, but our ambition had a ceiling. Now it is limitless.
Hopefully by Xmas we will be thinking that the following season, we could actually win the PL for a change.
I doubt that will happen by xmas. Emery has to implement a new system, new tactics and overhaul the culture completely. He'll also have to shape the squad and that'll take a few transfer windows.
Italian press reporting that we are talking with Lucas Torreira.
Sounds like we're getting close with Torreira and Soyuncu.
"Arsenal are in talks with Sampdoria over signing midfielder Lucas Torreira, according to Sky in Italy. The Gunners are thought to have offered to pay €30m in instalments instead of meeting the €25m release clause all at once. An agreement is believed to be close but discussions over terms and agent’s fees continue."
"Soyuncu's agent, Mustafa Dogru, said: "Sven Mislintat (Arsenal head of recruitment) has been keen on Caglar since he was at Borussia Dortmund. There are concrete talks - all that remains is for a fee to be agreed.""
Also, Sokratis nearly in the bag and two promising young players from PSG and Barcelona.
As widely reported Arsenal in talks to sign Sampdoria midfielder Lucas Torreira. No agreement but central midfield a priority & 22yo Uruguay int’l seen as ideal fit technically + financially. #AFC also want a GK after defensive signings of Lichtsteiner & Sokratis (announced July)
https://twitter.com/bbcsport_david/s...37146235723776
Getting the business done quickly. :popcorn:
Jesus! This really is a new era :popcorn:
I know nothing about Torreira but he's definitely the player we need.
I don't understand any of this. We're getting linked with players, and then actually buying them... what the hell is going on?
It's what happens when you get rid of a stubborn, dithering dinosaur.
Harsh on Gunnersaurus
This Torreira seems to be very highly rated.
The videos I've seen of him he looks like a little pitbull but he also has good feet and is a good passer too. Santi and Kante rolled into one.
Don't think he could be that good.... otherwise he'd be the best player in the world....but it would be nice if he has a similar range of skills.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cripps
Seems in the same ilk of Keita.
I think Chambers, Mavropanos, Holding and Sonyuncu may be one too many young CB's to have around..... I wonder if Chambers or Holding have futures here if this is all true....
We're close to Leno too apparently :wacko:
Buy all the players!
The nobody 17 year old from PSG isn’t happening
Yep, I don’t really know much about him either mate, but from what I have read about him he is very highly rated in Seria A. A lot of people say we are getting him on the cheap due to his buyout clause which expires soon. Many people view him as a 40million Pound plus player.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cripps
I caught some you tube clips and the kid looks a great player, very mobile, gets stuck in and technically decent. He has been compared by many to Marco Verratti!
He was really highly rated a couple of seasons ago, talked about as a potential world class keeper and geniune rival to Neuer for the German national team. He’s still decent enough and pulls off some great performances but is a bit error prone IMO.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cripps
If he can iron out some of the errors then we will have a very good keeper for years to come. He is definitely an upgrade on what we currently have, still a bit of a risky signing though.
I guess the theory is to take a punt on someone that has the potential to transition into the no. 1 role over next season or two. I agree it's risky though.
Fulham are interested in Chambers apparently.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice
Would happily sell to them if we could work out a deal for Sessegnon as well...
From the bits and pieces I've read, it sounds like we'd be going back to the kind of level we were at with Szczesny. Which is fine - I have no problem with working with a keeper who is potentially brilliant - just as long as he spends more time on the training ground working in his game than he does smoking and on social media.Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
Anyone know what's he's like with his feet? With everyone playing a high press now, it sometimes feels like one of the most important defensive contributions your keeper can make is offering your CBs a trusted, reliable option to pass to if they're under pressure...
Aye, my thoughts too mate.Quote:
Originally Posted by I am invisible
Apparently Emery is bringing over his Goalkeeping coach who is supposed to be very good so I reckon things could work out quite well. Fingers crossed! :)
Not sure what Leno is like with his feet, will do a bit more digging today.
I asked someone that lives in Germany what Leno was like and he said he's in the top 3 keepers over there.
I also think we gave Schezzer number 1 too soon, he needed to be back up to an experienced goalie who could help him and for him to earn the spot.Quote:
Originally Posted by I am invisible
Anyway, I'm liking some of these players we're linked with, hope they come to fruition.
More Kate than Cazorla, I'd say, although I do think he offers a mix of both. Think of Kate also attempting some of the things that Cazorla did and you probably won't be far off - not quite as graceful and slick, but still effective.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blink 1nce Quince 2wice
Not sure what the plan is with all these young CBs - it does feel like too many though. Seems likely that one / both of Chambers or Holding will be loaned or sold, if we bring in someine like Soyuncu.
Weren't we looking at Chambers playing DM at one point? I seem to remember himMaybe that's something we cab look into again (although that would probably mean we'll see another midfield casualty instead of a CB)...
Plus we'll have crazy Jens lurking somewhere in the background - he wouldn't dare make a mistake!Quote:
Originally Posted by selassie
Cech has a year left on his contract.
The plan will be to phase out Cech and phase in Leno.
Love this Torreira signing. Always been a big fan of Uruguayan Mids and defenders.
They do the simple things very well. And they know how to play dirty without getting caught
Torreira sounds like a good signing, Leno I'm not so sure about though:
He's also been left out of Germany's squad for the world cup, Stegen and Trapp were preferred to him. I've heard mixed stuff about him, some say he's decent and others say he's rubbish and not to go near him. An odd kind of signing really, generally you don't take chances with keepers, you buy keepers who have been at the top of their game.Quote:
Leno’s numbers last season were impressive, keeping 10 clean sheets in 33 Bundesliga appearances to help Leverkusen seal Europa League qualification. But questions remain over his concentration levels, boasting the unwanted record of committing the second-most errors leading to opposition goals among goalkeepers since the start of the 2015-16 season.
Re Torreira that is kinda odd too, his release clause is £21.9 million and yet we want to pay £26.4 million, I don't get it.
According to reports we're trying to pay over time rather than one lump sum.
Yeah, the release clause has to be paid in full, up front - by paying more we can spread it across installments. Allegedly.
Think this guy summed Leno up pretty well:
@JanAageFjortoft: Bernd Leno to Arsenal seems to be just around the corner. Was a great talenter keeper. It’s fair to say he hasn’t “taken the next step”. But a move to England can be good for him.
Plus Bayer Leverkusen aren't exactly the best side, I bet he's had some suspect players in front of him.
Would be ecstatic with Torriera assuming it all goes through (I've got Arsenal PTSD about failed transfers).
Leno not so much. But we've finally got rid of the hack Peyton so maybe our Goalkeepers may actually improve and get better under a new GK coach. At any rate, apart from the freaks like Oblak & De Gea I think most half-decent GK's have the potential to be competent with the right coaching & setup.